New Zealand Films ‘The Convert’ and ‘Uproar’ set to premiere at TIFF
by — 21 August 2023
Two New Zealand films, The Convert and Uproar, have been selected to attend the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) from September 7 to 17. The New Zealand Film Commission’s chief executive, Annie Murray, congratulated the teams behind these films. The Convert, directed by Lee Tamahori, will be honoured in the festival’s Special Performance category. The film transports the audience to an 1830s British colony in New Zealand, where lay preacher Thomas Munro’s violent past is challenged as he finds himself caught up in a bloody war between the Maori tribes.
The Convert is a New Zealand/Australian co-production with a screenplay by Shane Danielsen and Tamahori. Funding for the project was provided by the New Zealand Film Commission, the New Zealand Government’s Te Puna Kairangi Senior Production Fund for International Audiences, the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Grant Fund, and the sponsors of the project. produces Australia Offset and NSW Post & Incentives VFX and is based in London. Finance and production unit, MBK Productions. Mister Smith Entertainment will handle international sales, while Kismet is expected to release the film in New Zealand and Australia.
Uproar, directed by Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett, will also celebrate its world premiere in the TIFF Special Show segment. The film follows 17-year-old Josh Waaka (Dennison) as he searches for his place in the world. The film’s producers, Emma Slade, Angela Cudd, and Sandra Kailahi, say that although Uproar represents a time in New Zealand’s Aotearoa past, the themes and issues of today remain as relevant as they were in the past of New Zealand. the 1980s. Uproar was made possible with funding from the New Zealand Film Commission, the New Zealand Government’s Screen, Image, and Sound Production Fund, Orogen, and Kiwibank. The film will be released in theatres in New Zealand on October 5 through Kismet, while Blue Fox Entertainment will handle international sales. Co-directors Middleditch and Bennett expressed pride in bringing Uproar to the screen in Aotearoa, New Zealand, in October, saying the film is passionate, for all communities and all ages, and tells a story. It’s important that people find a connection with it.